whitwell



3 Sheets-'Sheet 1.

T. WHITWELL.

HOT BLAST OVEN.

No. 66,543. Patented July 9,-1867.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2. T; WHITWBLL. HOT BLAST OVEN.

No. 66,543. Patented July 9. 1867.

www /f Ms' l 3 sheets-smet 3. .-T. WHITWBLL.

HOT BLAST OVEN. Y `NO- 66,543. y Patented July 9, 1867.

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uiten 'tatea a'twt @Hirsi TH() MAS WHITWELL, OFl S'TOCKTON-O-N-TEES,ENGL AND... Letters Patent No. ddii-123, dated July 9, 1867; patented nEngland November 10, 1855.

. .z i I IMPROVEMENT IN @VII NS OR IURNACES POR HEATING THB BLAST 0FBLASI'`r"URllIAGI.SI

this ,intuitie maar tr in tlg'ese hitters @that mit mating @ad at tigesamt TO ALL TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, THOMAS WHITWLL, of Stockton-on-Tees, in the countyof Durham, England, Ironlmaster, a subject ofthe Queen of Great Britain,have invented or discovered new and useful Improvements in Furnaces forHeating` the Blast for Blast-Furnaces; and I, the said THOMAS WHITWELL,de hereby declare the nature of thc said invention, and in what mannerthe same is to be performed, to be particularly described andascertained in and by the following statement thereof; that iste say- 4l This invention has for its object improvements in furnaces used forheating the blast for blast-furnaces.

For these purposes, two similar furnaces, ovens, or heating-chambers areemployed, which are alternately heated by burning therein gas suppliedor cmittcd'from blast-furnaces during the process of smelting, and theblast to be heated is alternately directed into, 4and is caused topassthrough, these two furnaces,ovens, or chambers.' Each furnace, oven,or heating-chamber is enclosed by Walls, and is divided by uprightparallel partitionsor "walls into several narrow compartments. Thesewalls are formed of fire-brick, gannister, fire-stone, or other suitablerefractory material. The top and bottom of cach furnace, oven,orchamber, is formed similarly to" the walls. rThe partition walls arealternately, constructed with openings at top and bottom, so that theburning gas, and also the blast, in passing` through an oven orchamber', pass through each of thev narrow`compartments, and alternatelyunder and over the partition walls in succession. And my improvementsconsist in` forrninl such furnaces, ovens, or heating-chambers, withsuch openings in` theirl tops and sides as hereinafter mentioned forfacilitating the cleansingof the interior surfaces of their wallsrfromthe dust deposited by the `gas burnt therein. For this purpose form thetop of each furnace, oven, or heating-chamber, with. an opening aboveeach of the partition walls, Vwhich does not ascend to the top, and Imake the opening of'a p'ropershape and dimensions to enable a workman tointroduce a convenient instrument, and use it for the purpose ofdetaching the dust from the' surfaces ofthe narrow compartment at eachside of the partition wall. These openings, when the blastI is passingvthrough the furnace, oven, or chamber, and also'when burning gas ispassing through it for the purpose of heating it, are covered by plugsofrcfi'ictory material, but thel plugs are removed when the interiorsurfaces of thc walls are being'cleaned. I prefer to cover the exteriorof the oven with iron, and to attach the plugs above 'mentioned to doorsof iron. At the lower .part of each furnace, oven, or chamber, I formotheropefuipgs of suitable shapes and dimensions, 'through which thedust detached from theinterior surfaces of the walls when cleaning thefurnaces may be discharged. Through these openings atmospheric air maybe introduccdjo ignite the gas tobe burnt in the chamber for heating it.At the opposite sides of each furnace, oven, or chamber, are introducedpipes, with suitable valves, the pipe on one side communicating with thenarrowbcornpartmcnt at that side, and the pipe at the other sidecommunicating with the narrow compartment at such last-mentioned side.These pipes are used for supplying gas to one side of each furnace,oven, or chamber, during the heating thereof by the hhrning gas, and forallowing the products of combustion of the gas to pass oil` from theopposite side of the furnace, oven, or chamber, to a chimney. Thosepipes are also used for cpnducting Ithe blast to be heated' into oneside ofthe furnace, oven, or chamber, and out of it at the opposite sidethereof; but when the blast is passing through a furnace, oven, orchamber, it is caused to i'low in the opposite direction totliat inwhich the gas has been previously caused to How through the furnace,oven, or

chamber, when heatingjr it,"and this is accomplished bythe valves, whichare worked in such manner as to cause the blast to entcr at the side ofthe furnace, oven, or chamber, Where it is connected with tbe chimney,and to cause the heated blast to pass eff by the pipe, which had beenpreviously used as the supply pipe for introducing the gas into thefurnace., chamber, or oven. If desired, the atmospheric air necessaryfor supporting the combustion of the gas may be supplied to cachfurnace, oven, or chamber, otherwise than vby the openings at ,thebottom of thefurnace, oven, or chamber. Y Y

Having thus statedcthe nature of my said inventionI will proceed morefully to describe the mariner of performing the sainey l i YDescription. of the Drawings.' h

Figures I' and 2 showtwo side elevations of apparatus, Yconstructed andcombined according` to my inventionA Figure 3 shows an end elevation ofone of the furnaces, chambers, or ovens. u

Figure 4 shows a transverse section of one of the two furnaces orchambers which compose the complete apparatus; and A Figure 5, a plan ofthe two furnaces, chambers, or ovens, cne'bcing shown in section..

In each of these iguros the same let-ters of reference are uscd toindicate the same parts.`

The apparatus shown init-he drawings consist of two similar furnaces,chambers, or ovens, whiclrurc, by

preference, of a rectangulaiform, but that form is not essential,provided that the furnaces, chambers, or ovens are constructed ofsufficient strength to support the internal pressure. The two furnaces,chambers, or Ovens, are of like construction, and each isencloscd byfour walls of fire-brick, or other suitable material, (capable ofbearing a high temperature) strengthened by external iron plating. Eachfurnace, chamber, or oven, is divided by upright Walls, which arcconstructed in such manner that thevalternat'e walls are open at top J'and bottom, so that the blast of air entering on one side of one of thefurnaces, chambers, or ovens, near the bottom, is, by the constructionof the walls, caused to ascend, then to descend, then to ascend, and soon, till the blast of air gets away near the bottom of the opposite wallof the same furnace, chamber, or oven; or the *S arrangement of theinternal walls or partitions may be varied, so long as 'these walls arearranged to be cleansed as herein described. At the top of each furnace,chamber, or'oven, are iron doors K K, which are lincd'with fire-bricks,or lumps L L, which tit the openings in the tops of the chambers orovens. These openings in the tops of the furnaces, chambers, or ovens,are formed over thewalls, which do not come to the top of the furnaces,chambers, or ovens. By thus having openings over the shorterwalls,.tl1el surfaces of the walls of the narrow .compartment to theright hand, as well as those of the narrow compartment to the left hand,directly below the opening, can be cleaned with facility. V'lhcseopenings, when the air-blast is 'passing' through a furnace, oven, orchamber, are kept closed. In the arrangement shown there are three ofthe shorter wal-ls in each of the furnaces,v chambers, er ovens; but thenumber of shorter and higher walls used in a furnace, oven, or chamber,may be varied according to the extent of surface over which it isdesired the airblast shall pass. At the lower parts of the walls, whichascend to the tops of the furnaces, chambers, or ovens, there areopenings for the passage of the air-blast. Two furnaces, ovens, orchambers, are used in combination, in order to maintain a; regularstream of hot-blast. Gas from a blast-furnace is supplied to onefurnace, chamber, or oven, tohcat the same, whilst the air-blast ispassing through the other chamber or oven. And the arrangement of thepassages and valves, in connection with the furnaces, ovens, orchambers, is such that the air-blast passes through the furnaces, ovens,or chambers, in the opposite direction to that in which theA gases fromthe blast-furnace pass through the furnaces, chambers, or ovens. Thepassages from the furnaces, chambers, or ovens, where the products ofthe combustion of the gases pass off, are during that time caused to bein communication with a` chimney. -By these means the air-blast isgradually heated as it ascends and descends the compartments withineitherof the furnaces, chambers, or ovens, and the air-blast receivesits greatest heat from the hottest parts of the walls i-n the furnaces,chambers,v o`r ovens, immediately before leaving them. The dust carriedby the gas accumulates ony the walls, and requires to be scraped orremoved from time to time. The scraping'or removal from the walls isperformed by properftools, introduced through the top openings abovedescribed, and the dust is removed from the bottom of each chamber oroven, through the openings covered by the doors or valves D'D, by meansof rakes or other convenient tools. The gas from a blast-furnace isintroduced by the pipe A, and `passes either to 'the one or the other ofthe 4two furnaces, chambers, or ovens. Say, for instance, the gas isintroduced, rst, into No, furnace, chamber, lor oven, through the valveB1, the other valve .B being closed, ,as also the blast-valve C'. Thegas is ignited by air supplied through the cleaning openings D,protected from '-tli'ehjeat by movable perforated bricks'N N, by whichthe heat of the gas burned in the` compartments or spaces .between thewalls in fthe furnace, chamber, or oven, causes thel walls to becomevery highly heated. The .-'proiuctsarising from the burning of the'gasespass olf through the valve B2 into the pipe A', and thence intofthehininey. The interior of No. 1 furnace, chamber, or oven, is thusmade ready to receive the air-blast to be heated. The supply of'gas fromthe blast-furnace is then passed into the oven or chamber No. 2, throughthe valve B, the other valve'Bl being closed, as also the blast-valve C,and the gas is to be ignited by air supplied througlrthe openings at D,and the burned gas pass off by the valve B? to the chimney. Theair-blast, when the furnace,.ch';mber, or oven No. 1, has been heated,is introduced by the pipe J through the valve C2, vthe valve C3 beingclosed,a-nd the air-blast is caused, as before stated, by thearrangement of the valves to pass throughthe heated chamber 'intheopposite direction to that followed by the gas, and the heated blastwill pass o'if through the valve C into the pipe J. So soon as theair-blast ceases to be suiiieiently heatcdpit is shut olf i lfrom thefurnace, chamber, or oven No. 1, and turned on through the furnace orchamber No. 2, which has become highly heated during the timethat theair-blast has been passing through No. 1 furnace, chamber, orkvovcn,l.and the coldairis'ad'mitted byl tliepipe J, and ilows throughthe valve (ls-the valve C2, and also the gasvalvefBs, bcingclosedl'lhe'heated "air-blast passes of by the valve C into the pipe J. Duringthe time that .theair-blast"is'l passingthrough the furnace, chamber, oroven No.2, the chamber or oven No. 1 will be again` heated, and thus maya continued highly-heated air-blast be maintained. The gas pipes A A canbe cleaned through the openings closed by the valves D D. In place ofsupplying air through the cleaning openings D for the combustion of thegas, openings may be made such as are indicated at M M.

Having thus described the nature of my invention and the'smanner ofperforming the same, I would have it g understood that I claim theconstruction of furnaces, ovens, or chambers, with internal walls orpartitions for heating the blast for blast-furnaces,rwith openings atthe top capable of being closed by means of plugs or doors,

and also with openings at bottom of the sides thereof, capable of beingclosed by means of doors or valves, and

the whole acting substantially as herein described, for the purpose ofcleansing the interior of such furnaces, ovens, 'or chambers from dust,as hereizxbefore described. v

- THOMAS WHITWELL. Witnesses:

IVRAINL Both of No. 17 Gracecmrc/a, Street, London, E. C'.

JOHN HARRISON, Notary Public.

